Morphology evolution of self-same nanocomposites hybridized with jumbo-sized particles

Abstract

This article reports the production, morphological analyzes, and application of electrospun self-same nanocomposites with milled carbon fibers (MCFs). The new hybridized structure was also incorporated into conventional fiber reinforced epoxy composites with improved properties. The MCF-hybridized polymeric nonwoven mats were formed with the simultaneous dual electrospinning of a soften-able (m-phase) and a crosslink-able (x-phase) variants of poly(styrene-co-glycidyl methacrylate). The morphology of the hybrid material was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that electrospinning can successfully deposit reinforcing particles of giant size (MCFs are 7 μm in diameter, 50 μm to 3 mm in length) compared to the diameter of the carrier nanofibers (nanometers). The new hybrid structure preserved the fibrous morphology of the polymer phases up to 250°C. The overall morphology of the hybrid composite was tunable by changing the fractions of the two polymeric phases. The particle-polymer hybrid structures created morphologies that might find applications in various areas such as the interlayer toughening of laminated composites. It was shown that m-phase/MCF@x-phase nonwoven integrated into epoxy matrix composite laminates as interlayer, increased the strain at failure and ultimate strength under tensile loading by 11% and 9%, respectively.